3 Great and Affordable Places to Eat in Sarajevo

Compared to other European countries, visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a costly experience no matter where you hail from. Famous for natural beauties, ski resorts, historic landmarks and fort ruins, this little country, where the West meets the East, offers a variety of both local and international cuisines that will satisfy your tummies and leave you with a good feeling.

My best friend and I have been exploring small shops and restaurants as a hobby. We are both keen food lovers, and we love to occasionally top our culinary experiences with local drinks, so if you would like to both save money and satisfy your hunger, I recommend the next five restaurants!

Food Market, SCC Shopping Centre

Located on the third floor of the Sarajevo City Centre shopping mall, in the heart of the city, ‘Food Market’ offers a variety of international cuisine, as seen through the culinary lens of both foreign and local chefs. With an assortment of food ranging from Indian, Mexican and Chinese, to Bosnian and Italian, ‘Food Market’ tries to satisfy even the most demanding customer’s taste buds.

My friends and I visit ‘Food Market’ at least once a month and have been doing so nearly ever since it’s opening. We have seen the restaurant undergo plenty of changes, from interior design alterations to menu improvement. My personal favourite dishes are ‘Food Market pizza’, which comes with a number of toppings including cheese, local smoked meat and sausages. bell peppers, onions, tomato sauce and rocket salad, ‘Chicken nugget and Parmesan Salad’ which comes with a dish full of fresh, tossed vegetables, and any of the offered pastas (I will tentatively recommend the salmon pasta).

The drinks menu offers just about anything, but be aware that they do not serve any alcohol!

The prices range from 5 BAM (2.5. eur) to around 15 BAM (7.5 eur) per dish. My recommended dishes cost as follows: the pizza is 5.5 eur (11 BAM), the salad is 4.5 eur (9 BAM), and the pastas are typically between 4.5-5.5. eur (9-11 BAM).

Ćevabdžinica ‘Željo’

If you are in the mood for local, Bosnian food, then I recommend you head out to the Old Town, enjoy some of the handicrafts shops and then find your way to the famous ‘Željo’ Ćevabdžinica.

This small restaurant is famous in and out of Sarajevo and people from other cities and neighbour countries flock to the restaurant to try Sarajevo’s famous grilled finger food called ‘ćevapi’. ‘Željo’ has, to the best of my knowledge, two restaurants in the Old Town and they were often crowded so you may have to wait a while to get your seat, but trust me, the wait will be well worth it.

For around 2.5 eur for small ‘ćevapi’ plate (5 pieces) and 3-4 eur for the large plate (10 pieces), you can satisfy your meat cravings and top them with some tasty local beer! You can try other, local dishes for around the same price as well!


Located in a remote street behind the Central Bank of Bosnia in the city centre, ‘Woki’ is a small but cute restaurant that mainly serves chicken, beef and fish-based dishes, though they do offer a few vegetarian options.

My recommendation would be either the ‘Woki chicken’ or any of the lasagnas for they are all finger-licking good and the price range is 4-5 eur. In general, Woki’s prices do not go over 7 eur per dish and the quantity of food matches the quality so the money will be well spent.

A weekend in Tochigi prefecture Japan

Located north of Tokyo, approximately an hour’s ride via the shinkansen, the Tochigi prefecture is home to many attractive sites, both natural and man-made, from famous onsen and ski resorts in the Nasu region, and a national park, to UNESCO’s ‘Shrines and Temples of Nikkō’ World Heritage Site.

If you are tried of the bustling city, a quick getaway to Tochigi prefecture can heal your body and mind.

When my partner first told me we were going on a weekend trip to Utsunomiya, I was hesitant to commit to excitement. Make no mistake that being in Japan was in and of itself a thrilling affair for me as I had been dreaming of exploring the country since I was a little girl with her eyes glued to the Ghibli studio movies on the television. On top of that, it was my second visit to Japan but when I was told that the next adventure would be in Tochigi prefecture, as I had never heard much of anything about the location, I could not help but feel reserved until we finally arrived in Utsunomiya, on an overcast, Saturday afternoon and my heart changed.

How to get to Utsunomiya

Before I get into the weekend itinerary and my Tochigi adventure, I would like to offer a brief guide on how to get to Utsunomiya, the capital of the prefecture.

If you are coming from Tokyo, my advice is taking the fast, Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen bound fro Sendai. It takes around an hour-hour fifteen minutes, and costs between 4500-5000 yen (42-47 USD). I think this is a one-way ticket price, and so if you wish to return by regular train, you can do that directly from Utsunomiya station, though it will take roughly two hours.

A cheaper option is taking the local Utsunomiya Line train, then switching to the rapid Line at Akabane station. One-way tickets are around 18 USD, but it takes two hours and twenty minutes to reach your destination.

If you want to go there from more distant cities, say Osaka, I think taking a flight would be a much more convenient option that will still respect your budget.

Weekend itinerary in Tochigi

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One day itinerary in Kamakura

Kamakura, a small town south of Tokyo, used to be the centre of political power during the Kamakura period and though it is now considered a small town, it used to be Japan’s most populated settlement. Today, Kamakura is one of the most popular day-trip destinations for both local and international travellers in Japan, and the itinerary below will offer you a very simple, but fun one-day plan for this stunning and bustling little city! I hope you will enjoy it!

Click here to read the itinerary 🙂



I was flying from Sarajevo to Istanbul, and then Istanbul to Tokyo, with a planned layover of ninety-five minutes which ended up being around forty because my flight was delayed.

Something that I learned from other travellers is that the taxi time is ridiculously long at Istanbul airport and I can confirm that! We taxied for around eighteen minutes when we landed in Istanbul, and forty-six minutes when departing to Tokyo. Just to compare, when I transferred at Ataturk Airport, the taxi time was around ten and fifteen minutes respectively, though I do understand the time and the circumstances are presently different.

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